What is strategic planning

Imagine you're ready to expand your thriving business to another market. Would you choose that market based on where you'd like to vacation, or just ask ChatGPT to decide for you? That wouldn’t be strategic, and it could backfire. The smart business move would be to assess risks, opportunities, regulations, competition, and the local business landscape—then use your analysis to plan your next move.

For businesses, strategic planning can make all the difference between expanding market share and closing up shop. Read on to find out how to excel at strategic planning.

What is strategic planning?

Whether your organization is a startup or established business charting the way forward, a strategic plan is a vital tool for success—and you can lead the charge. Strategic planning is the process of putting your best business theories to the test in the marketplace. Your strategic planning process starts with defining a mission/vision statement and setting key goals. To achieve those goals, you create a detailed plan, or strategy map.

Once you put that strategic plan into motion, you're no longer just reacting to market forces. You're proactive, blazing your own trail to your desired destination. There’s no better way to ensure that decisions are evidence-based, forward-looking, collaborative, and aligned with your entire organization’s long-term objectives.

Think of your business as an orchestra. No matter how skilled your musicians are, if they all play a different tune, you won't like what you hear. Wouldn’t you rather start out with sheet music and a brilliant conductor? An organization can make decisions without a strategic plan in place, just like an orchestra can play without a conductor. But when individuals or departments make decisions based on opinion, guesswork, or instinct, you can end up with disorganized, inefficient use of time and resources—and that’s not music to anyone’s ears.

How is strategic planning different from other plans?

Roger Martin, one of the world’s leading thinkers on strategy, cautions that “a plan is not a strategy.” A plan is comfortable because you control the levers, like time and costs. But strategic planning challenges you to put strategy to the test, making “an integrative set of choices that positions you on a playing field of your choice in a way that you win.”

Benefits of strategic planning

A strategic plan can be a competitive advantage. Harvard Business Review found that up to 67% of HR and IT departments have strategies of their own that don’t align with the larger corporate strategy. The bad news gets worse: 95% of employees don’t understand their organization’s strategy. Clear, effectively communicated strategic plans position organizations to outperform competitors struggling to articulate cohesive strategies to their employees.

With a strategic plan, you can help your organization to:

• Communicate priorities to employees at all levels
• Allocate resources appropriately to meet goals
• Track progress objectively
• Make clear decisions more efficiently
• Avoid mistakes caused by short-term thinking

3 strategic planning best practices

1. Consider it a learning process. Creating strategic plans teaches teams to think more strategically, preparing decision-makers to make choices rationally under pressure.
2. Make comprehensive plans. Research shows a thorough, comprehensive planning process yields strong results. Consider a variety of viewpoints and multiple options before setting your strategic objectives.
3. Conduct regular updates. The most successful organizations are nimble, making wise strategic decisions in real time as circumstances change. Revisiting plans frequently with key decision-makers helps keep your strategy relevant and responsive.

Who belongs on strategic planning teams?

Strategic planning teams tackle key responsibilities: defining company mission/vision statements, setting goals, identifying opportunities, evaluating risks, and plotting a course to meet objectives. To achieve this ambitious agenda,  your team should cover a broad spectrum of viewpoints and roles, including:

• VPs and C-suite executives who must be consulted, according to your RACI matrix
• Representatives from various departments, team leads, and department heads who are responsible or accountable for outcomes
• Other key stakeholders to keep informed, such as board members or investors

Not sure who your key stakeholders are? Check out the FigJam stakeholder analysis template to identify valuable collaborators right from the start, but make sure the group doesn’t get too big. Large groups can get bogged down in strategic planning discussions.

Strategic planning in 5 steps

Your organization's strategic planning process may take slightly different steps depending on its size and needs, but most organizations follow these five basic steps.

1. Define the organization's mission, vision, and values.

These elements of strategic planning inform all of your objectives and the overall direction of the business strategy from here on out. What does your organization intend to do? What does it stand for, and why?

2. Conduct a situational analysis.

SWOT analysis is a time-tested tool to assess the opportunities and risks your organization faces. Cover internal and external factors, including your resources, competition, and changes in the market.

3. Set goals and objectives.

Pinpoint what you want to achieve, then set realistic and achievable targets. You  could focus on  specific objectives  (“reduce customer acquisition costs by 5% next quarter”) or address broader strategic goals (“increase customer satisfaction”). Articulate goals and objectives clearly, and define your measurements for success.

4. Develop and launch your action plan.

Outline the steps to take, and break down steps into tasks. Then decide who is responsible for each task, and when each task needs to be completed. With every decision, aim to minimize risk and maximize opportunity to achieve your goal.

To get your strategic plan on track for success, communicate the plan to everyone in the organization. You may want to launch your plan at an all-hands meeting, or break it up into meetings with separate departments.

5. Evaluate the results.

Establish a timeline of regular assessments to check  plan progres. Assign responsibilities to monitor and assess outcomes, and make course corrections as needed.

Pro tips and tools for strategic planning

The strategic planning process involves gathering data, documents, and team input to define timelines with multiple steps and dependencies. Figma's makes this complex process easier with these collaborative strategic planning tools:

• Balanced scorecard. Organizations as diverse as Chrysler and the U.S. Army use the  Balanced Scorecard to take performance to the next level. A Balanced Scorecard assigns weighted values to various options to remove bias from decision-making, guide plan implementation, and help you communicate your strategy clearly.
• SWOT analysis. Identify your company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats with a SWOT analysis. This tool offers a comprehensive, objective overview of company  resources and its internal and external working environment. You’ll draw on the data you collect during your SWOT analysis many times during your strategic planning process.
• KPI tracking dashboard. Key performance indicators (KPIs) quantify success measurements and establish the timeline for achieving specific financial, strategic, or operational milestones. A shared KPI dashboard template will get your KPI tracking system up and running fast, boosting visibility and collaboration.
• RACI matrix. Identify all the key stakeholders on your strategic plan and group them according to their level of involvement: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. Figma’s RACI template can get you started quickly.
• Gantt chart. To capture your strategic plan timeline and steps at a glance, try a Gantt chart. This bar chart highlights start dates, deadlines, resource allocations, assignments, and other key planning elements. Use a Gantt chart to sequence tasks and show your team exactly which steps need to be completed when.

Strategize for success with Figma

The keys to strategic planning are collaboration, effective teamwork, and comprehensive information-gathering—and Figma has you covered with online collaboration tools. Figma's easy, engaging strategic plan template  gets your team started with tools for brainstorming, diagramming, and sharing data and feedback—all in one space.

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